“Apologies to those who were planning to see me“. Novak Djokovic stunned the tennis community and his fans with his announcement earlier this week on Tuesday. Just when the anticipation was building for his return to action, after pulling back from the Paris Masters last month, he did the unexpected. Despite qualifying for Turin, he eventually decided not to participate. But what was the reason behind the 7-time champion of the ATP Finals to miss out on one of the most important year-end events?

It’s worth noting that Djoker was the winner of the season finale last year. He beat the current world no.1 Jannik Sinner 6-3, 6-3 in straight sets to lift his seventh ATP Finals trophy. This time, however, he won’t be present to defend his title. An ‘ongoing injury’ has forced Djokovic to pull his name back from Turin and take a break from tennis until the start of next season. Just five days ahead of the tournament, Novak shared a story on his Instagram account. Giving a reason for his withdrawal from the ATP Finals, the Olympics Gold medalist wrote, “It’s quite an honor to qualify for the @nittoatpfinals in Turin. I was looking forward to be there, but due to an ongoing injury, I won’t be playing next week.” 

Speaking of his run in 2024, the former world no.1 has been impressive, if not completely invincible. In the Australian Open, he reached the semis. At Roland Garros, however, he had to pull out from the QF round, owing to a knee injury. But he came back strongly in the Wimbledon, reaching the final encounter. Sadly, he couldn’t beat Carlos Alcaraz as the Spaniard reigned supreme and took the trophy. But Novak didn’t take long to take the revenge. At the Paris Olympics, despite suffering from a prolonged knee injury, he won the biggest laurel for his country. The Serbian took the better of Alcaraz and clinched the match 7-6, 7-2 in straight sets. With a Gold medal, he also succeeded in completing the career Golden Slam while winning his 99th tour-level title. To sum up his season, he’s got a 37-9 win-loss index.

While he’s off-court as of now, the Novak is still one of the favorites in 2025. According to a former WTA pro, Djoker may extend his Grand Slam total to 25 in Australia next year.

Novak Djokovic expected to make a solid comeback in 2025 Australian Open

In a podcast episode, dated November 8th, ex-WTA player Tracy Austin commented on Djokovic’s withdrawal from the ATP Finals. “I just think with his knee, he had that kind of emergency knee surgery, between the French and Wimbledon, and has come back playing the sleeve on the knee since then, has said that he’s not playing the ATP Tour Finals”, she said while sharing thoughts on his injury situation.

However, she admired his will to win and the overall commitment to the game. Even at 37, he’s able to deliver the highest level of play on any court, no matter the conditions. Tracy implied that Novak maybe going through an injury, but he can still pull off a huge victory at the Australian Open in 2025. “I mean, Australia would be the one, I think, that he would take if it was possible,” she said. Out of his 24 slams, 10 have come in Australian alone. Per Tracy, he can take this count to 11 if he recovers in time. “You could see, you could see it at the Australian”.

Seems like even Novak believes he’ll be able to return soon. There was a new update from the player following his ATP Finals withdrawal. “Tennis is still my focus! I am going at full throttle in the off-season. We go for another ride. I just needed to recharge and refresh a bit after an exhausting year,” said Djoker, as reported by Tennis Majors on November 8th. He made it very clear that fans will see him in the first Major of the next season. In his own words, “I am going to play in the first week of the season. I am just not sure yet where. Then, of course, Australian Open.”